Method of and apparatus for handling strand material



Sept. 22, 1931;

. J.- E. LODGE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STRAND MATERIAL Filed April 6, 1929 2 Shets-Sheet 1 /nvenfor Jose 0h E; Log/7e Sept. 22, 1931. 1 k. LODGE 8 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STRAND MATERIAL Filed April- 6. 19 25 Sheets-51 1809. -2

' /m/emo r J05 e ofi' E. Lodye N Patented. Sept. 22, 1931 hurrah stares PATENT OFFICE zosnrni Evnamr Loneaor MAYwooD, rumors, ASSIGNOR T WESTERN nrnc'rnrc COMPANY, mconrom rnn, or NEW roan, N. Y., A CORPORATION on NEW YORK I mn'rnon or Arm ArrAnArUs r03 HANDLING STRAND MATERIAL g Application filed April '6, 1929 Serial No. 353,041.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for handling strand material, and

. more particularly to a method of and an apparatus for handling a plurality of moving wires during a process of applying coating material thereon.

The invention is particularly applicable to the handling of moving wires which are in the process of being covered with rubber compound or other insulating substance and are also being vulcanized or otherwise treated in a closed chamber. In such process a plurality of wires are moved in parallel relation through an extrusion machine where an insulating covering is applied tothem, and are then passed through an elongated chamber whereinthey are subjected to the action of steam or other heating medium to effects. heat treatment of the covering. For example, two parallel wires may he simultaneously passed through the apparatus, the respective 'wires being drawn from separate supply reels, simultaneouslypassed through the extrusion machine where a covering of rubber or other insulating material is applied to-them, and then passed in parallel relation through a closed steam chamberto effect vulcanization of the rubber, the steam chamber,

at the point where the moving wires emerge being provided with a suitable seal to prevent leakage of the steam from the chamber.

Objects of this invention'are to provide an,

improved method of and apparatus for expeditiously handling moving strands.

In accordance with the present. invention, means are' provided whereby when a reel becomes exhausted of wire the apparatus need not be stopped but the forward end of the v wire from a succeeding reel may be fed into the extrusion machineand, during its passage through the steam chamber, attached to the other (continuous) wire by means of a clip or similar 'faste'ning member. The two wires are thereby bound together so that as the continuous wire is drawn forwardly it draws the wire or the new reel with it, and the forwardend of the wire of the new reel is thus drawn through the steam chamber and seal by the continuous wire.

The invention will be more fully under-.

in which.

Fig. 1 is a. diagrammatic elevation, partly in section, of a device embodying the invention and by means of which the invention may be practiced,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1,; showing the mechanism for attaching clips to the wires,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig.2, 4

- Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3,'and

Fig. .5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3. In the drawings, the reference numeral 9 designates the insulating head-of an extrusion machine of any suitable construction adapted to simultaneously apply under pressure a covering of rubber compound or other material 10 to wires 11 and 12 which pass therethrough from supply reels 13, 14; and 15. The extrusion machine may be of any suitable type, such as that shown in the application of G. L. Cherry, Serial No. 353,042, tiled April 6,1929, and may be designed to apply a common covering to the two wires of the tormillustrated in Fig. 5, or may apply separate coverings thereto, as desired. The supply reels are so mounted with respect to'the extrusion machine that when one reel becomes exhausted the wire from another reel may be threaded into the machine without removing the exhausted reel. From the struction, the one illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings comprising-a threaded cap lindrical retaining member 23 holds the disks 22 in aryielding contact with the coated wires 11 and 12 moving therethrough to pre-- .vent leakage of the steam from the chamber.

The retaining member 23 is heldin position by a bell-cranklever 24 which is yieldingly 10 urged against the retaining member by means of a piston 63 mounted in a cylinder .64 and actuated by compressed air or other pressure medium admitted through duct 65, the piston being yieldingly' urged upwardly by a coiled spring 66.-

a A clip-securing mechanism 25 is mounted on the chamber 16 at a point between the insulatinghead 9 and the outlet end of the scribed here' after. The securing mechanism comprises a block 26 having a cylindrical recess 27 communicatingwith chamber 16 and forming a sliding fit for a plunger 28 having a tapered flange 29 engaging a correspondingly tapered wall'30 of the recess in steam-tight engagement. At its other end the plunger is provided with a detachable head 31, and the plunger is normally held in retracted position by the steam-pressure acting on flange 29 and also by means of a. coiled.spring 32 interposed btween'the block 26 and the head 31. 'At its inner end the plunger 28 is provided with a bifurcated forming member 33 adapted to cooperate with a 011 holder 35 disposed diametrically opposite t ereto with respectto the chamber 16 and adapted to hold aclzip 36. A removable plug 38 is seated in block 26 to permit the insertion of plunger 28 in the assembling of theapparatus. Clip-holder 35 is fixedly mounted in a cylindricjal loading member 40 which is slidablymou'nted in a cylindrical recess 41 in block 26, the recess being closed at its lower end by means of a plug 42. The loading member 40 is-provided with a' pair of oppositely slots 44 adapted to receive corresponding flanges 45 formed on the wall of recess 41 to'hold the loading member 40 'and .clip holder 35 in proper -alignment.

1 Member 40 provided at its uppcr portion with a sealing head 46 havingbeveled sur- 1 V'faces 41 to prevent leakage offstcam, and is also i'ovided with a crank 50 which is threade .int'o a bracket 51 fi xed to block 26. a At its lower end,'crank 50 isprovided with an' annular flange 54* rotatably mounted in I the sealing head'46. Loading member 40 is also provided with a recess 55-adapted to M align withchamber'16 when the loading memher is in its raised position, toprovide for free passage of the wires during the reloadinglpperatlom operation, w1resv11 and 12 are ,0; from the supply reels 14 and 15 through the chamber, for a purpose to be more fully de- 2Q insulating head 9, which forms an insulating coating thereon. The are then drawn through the steam chamber 16 and seal 18 in arallel relation, passing over capstan 19 to the take-up reel 20, the distance between capstan 19 and reel 20 being sufficiently great to permit the covering to cool and harden. When the wire on a given, reel 14 is exhausted, its rear end 56 will be drawn through the apparatus, and the extrusion machine will thereafter produce a tube or section of insulation 57 having no wire therein but usually having sufficient tensile strength to revent its breaking before the forward en 58 of the wire on the next reel has advanced for some distance into the steam chamber 16. The operator may therefore pass the forward end 58 of the next reel 13 through the extrusion machine, whence it will beadvanced into 1 chamber l6zby the pressure ofthec'overingma- ,terial being extruded; When the forward end 58 has passed the clip-securing mecha- V nism 25, the operator will secure the two wires, 11 and 12 together by striking the head 31 with a mallet or other instrument. This re-' sults in the formin member 33 being forced against the cli hol er 35 in such a manner as to cause, the c ip 36 to be bound around the wires in the manner illustrated in Fi .4, the 1 forward end 58 bein thereby secure to the Y continuous wire 11, t e interconnection bein of sufiicient strength to draw wire 12 through the seal by the tension exerted on wire 11 by capstan 19, and to rmit the wires there: after to be wound an otherwise handled in the usual manner. The clip also has the advantage of marking the point at which the connection'has been made, thereby facilitating the later removal of the section 57 re.-

paratory to splicing the two ends 56 an 58. It will be evident that the operation of the clip-securing mechanism 25 does not necessi- .tate arresting the movement of 11 and 12, as its action is almost instantaneous and its withdrawal very quickly efiected by "the steam pressure in chamber 16 as wll asby the spring 32. The movement of the wires f while the clip is being secured thereto results in the material 10 being stripped therefrom for a short distance, as indicated-at 60, and compacted re'arwardly of the clip, as indi cated at '61, in-Figs. 3 and .4. The clip hav-' ing been applied to the wires, the loading member 40 may be withdrawn to the position indicatedindotte'd lines in Fig. 2 by rotatin handle 50, thereby raising member 46-unt 'recessv55 registerswith chamber 16 and clip holder 35 is raised above the ripper surface of block 26. In this position, a new clip may be inserted in holder 35and the member 40 returned to its normal position. .It should be noted that thi's reloading operation does not permit the escape of any substantial amount of steam from chamber 16.

Wh1le the invention has been described 130 with particular reference to a pair of wires having a common covering, and to a steam vulcanizing process, it will be readily understood that both the apparatus and method, with suitable modifications, may be applied in various other relations where it is desired to attach a plurality of moving strands together without interrupting their movement. The scope of the invention is therefore to be limited only by the terms of the following claims;

What is claimed is:

1. A method of handling strand material, comprising advancing a strand along a predetermined path, applying a covering to said strand and subjecting the covering to pres sure treatment during such advancement, and attaching another strand to the first mentioned strand during the pressure treatment.

2. A method of handling strand material, comprising advancing a plurality of strands in parallel relation along a predetermined path, heat treating the strands during such advancement, and securing some of said strands together during such heat treatment without arresting their movement.

3. A method of handling strand material, comprising continuously advancing a plurality of strands in parallel relation along a predetermined path, applying a continuous covering to each of the strands at one point along said path, connecting the rear end of an exhausted strand to ,the forward end of a succeeding strand by means of the covering material, and connecting the forward end of the succeeding strand to another of the covered strands.

4. An apparatus for handling strand material, comprising means for moving a plurality of strands in parallel relation, a clip holding member positioned adjacent the path of the moving strands, and a clip forming member disposed oppositely to said" clip holding member and adapted to be moved into engagement with the clip holding mem- 5. A device for handling strand material, comprising means for moving a plurality of strands in parallel relation, means for continuously heat-treating the strands during such movement, and means for securing some of said strands together during such heat treatmentwithout arresting their movement. j

- 6. A device for handling strand material,

comprising a container for a pressure methrough said container. 7. A device for handling coated wires,

comprising a container for a gas under presed wires through'said container, and means for securing some of said strands together during their movement through said container, said last mentioned means comprising a member projecting into the container and maintaining during its operation a seal against the escape of the gas.

8. In a device for handling strand material, a clip-securing mechanism having a passagew'ay sealed against communication with the exterior of the mechanism, a clip holding member extending into said passageway and movable to a reloading position without establishing communication between the pasmaterial, a member having a passageway,

means for advancing a plurality-of strands through said passageway, and means for securing some of said strands together during their movement through the passageway, said last mentioned means comprising an element for holding a securing member within the passageway and means cooperating with the element for forming the securing memher about the strands.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 25th day of March A. D., 1929.

JOSEPH EVERETT LODGE.

sure, means for moving a plurality of coat- 

